Gamba Osaka 2-3 Nagoya Grampus

Gamba went into their third game of the 2019 season unchanged from the team that overran Shimizu S-Pulse last week but were down a goal inside a minute as their former player Shuhei Akasaki slotted home from six yards out, after the away team had managed to get the ball across from the left wing. An early goal, again, in a Gamba home game, but this time it was against the home team. In the build-up to the goal Kosuke Onose was shepherding the ball when shoved in the back - no foul. Grampus players exchanged passes and the through ball forward was allowed to run by a player who looked very likely to be in an offside position - no offside given or even considered by the officials. Suddenly it's 1-0 to the away team. Game on but questions worth asking of the referee?.

Gamba then took the game to their visitors and Ademilson came close in the 11th minute, forcing one of multiple fine saves by Grampus 'keeper Mitch Langerak in this game. Two minutes later Hwang Ui-jo was about to unleash a shot when he was bundled to the ground for a penalty shout - not given. The referee earned some more abuse from the crowd!

Four minutes further on and another patient passing Gamba build-up saw a fine Yasuhito Endo lob into the area for Onose to volley backwards into the path of Shu Kurata, but the Gamba number 10's volley was straight at the goalkeeper. The action continued and, on the 25-minute mark Grampus managed to get the ball upfield quickly and, while Gabriel Xavier's curling shot hit the corner of the goal, Masaaki Higashiguchi had it covered.

Gamba finally got the goal that they so richly deserved in the 36th minute, after a swift move down the right saw Onose's low cross diverted out of the path of Hwang but into his own goal by an under pressure Shinnosuke Nakatani. In a game that was end to end all day, though, Grampus were ahead again with the next play as Gabriel Xavier floated a free kick into the area and the ball glanced off the head of Schmidt and into Higashiguchi's bottom right corner. 2-1 to the away team at the break.

It was obvious that Gamba had so far been concentrating on playing short ball possession football but Endo finally changed that a few minutes after the restart when he sent a pinpoint long ball 50 yards to Hwang, who controlled it with one touch and poked it towards goal with the next touch. Langerak was there again to save his team. Gamba then had the ball in the net two minutes later after another cool Endo lob had caused chaos in the away team's box, but the whistle went as the ball crossed the line for a handball on the ground, it seemed.

Gamba were finally level again when Ademilson was brought down by the unfortunate Nakatani - having a bad day after scoring an own goal, also. The tricky Brazilian scored the resulting kick and it was 2-2, and all to play for.

The turning point of the game was when Grampus manager brought on young Yuki Soma - who had been scoring goals off the bench already this season. His fresh legs started to cause problems on Gamba's right and he created two superb chances for Jo, which HIgashiguchi saved well to keep the home team alive. It was Soma's cross, too, that Higashiguchi got a hand to in the 88th minute, but only enough to push it onto the leg of the unfortunate Hiroki Fujiharu who deflected it into his own net to give Grampus their third win of the new season.